E. Spencer Kyte looks back at Jon Jones' dominant victory over Lyoto Machida, Frank Mir's come-from-behind submission win, and much more in his UFC review series 10 Things We Learned Last Night at Keyboard Kimura.

1. The Legend Continues to Grow

After being tested more in the opening round than he’s been tested in any previous fight, Jon Jones earned his fourth victory of the year by stopping challenger Lyoto Machida in the second round.

If this was to be the stiffest test of Jones career to date, his performance should have everyone else in the division questioning whether they really want to challenge for the title in 2012. Some heavyweights might even want to keep an eye on the light heavyweight champion as well, as I think his future rests in the big boy ranks somewhere down the road.

This was yet another incredible performance for Jones — his second title defense, third win over an opponent who has held the light heavyweight title, and fourth victory since February. Jones’ 2011 run might be the best year in MMA history, and he’s just 24-years-old.

He’s scary good, and he’s only going to get better.

2. No, Jon Jones Won’t Be Fighting Anderson Silva

Personally, I’m glad Dana White quickly answered this question and moved on to other things. There is no need for Jones and Silva to meet in the Octagon, outside of satisfying those fanboy urges we all have every now and again to see two champions clash in the cage.

There are a few different potential challengers for Jones at light heavyweight — Rashad Evans, Phil Davis, Dan Henderson — and Silva has a couple more guys looking to get a crack at the middleweight championships too — Chael Sonnen, Mark Munoz, Michael Bisping — so let them each defend their belts, keep the divisions moving forward, and save the Silva vs. Jones match-ups for UFC Undisputed 3 when it comes out in February 2012.

3. Better Comeback: Frank Mir or Cheick Kongo?

As much as I was amazed by Cheick Kongo’s back-from-the-brink knockout finish of Pat Barry back in June, I’d have to say Frank Mir’s almost-finished-now-I’m-breaking-your-arm submission win over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Saturday night takes the cake.

Mir was out on his feet after Nogueira tagged him on the button with a big right hand; he actually looked out at one point when his forehead was resting on the canvas, and Nogueira was trying to finish. To have the presence of mind to grab Nogueira’s arm, secure the kimura, and execute perfectly in that moment is insane.

It was also gruesome. I don’t fault Mir for continuing to apply the hold, not by any stretch, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t stop watching as they showed the replay over and over on the pay-per-view broadcast.

Mir is now the only man to knockout and submit “Minotauro,” a pair of accomplishments that shouldn’t be diminished.

Update: Nogueira requires surgery, as per Dana White; injuries to both shoulder and elbow. Get well soon, Nog!

4. Overeem Out of UFC 141 Fight with Brock Lesnar?

The rumor going around the Air Canada Centre after the event was that former Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair Overeem was out of his upcoming UFC 141 bout with Brock Lesnar; Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports was the first person I saw tweeting the potentially massive news.

Ariel Helwani asked Dana White about the rumor during the post-fight press conference, with the UFC responding with a question of his own — “Where do you guys get this [beep]?”

What makes this rumor particularly juicy — at least in my opinion — is that Overeem recently returned to Holland to be with his ailing mother. I’m not speculating about anything nefarious, just saying that his being home instead of in the gym focused solely on Brock gives this rumor some legs with me.

We’ve heard Dana deny a number of things over the years that turned out to be true — cough Tito facing Chuck in Vancouver cough — and Kevin Iole isn’t usually one to circulate empty speculation and rumors, so as I hear more, you’ll hear more, promise.

For what it’s worth, Mir said he would be more than happy to fill in for Overeem if the rumors were true.

5. End of the Line for Tito Ortiz

The former light heavyweight champion came out aggressive, landed a few punches, took a few in return, and looked to be ready for an old fashioned scrap with Rogerio Nogueira early in their bout, but that quickly changed.

Nogueira, a former Pan Am Games bronze medalist in boxing, wobbled Ortiz with a big shot, then dropped him with a heavy knee to the body. Though Ortiz initially did a solid job of covering up on the ground, Nogueira started to work the body, landing a series of thunderous elbows and punches to Ortiz’s right side, forcing referee Yves Lavigne to stop the fight. From the looks of things, I’d say Ortiz has a couple of busted ribs.

This was a solid victory for Nogueira, who gets his back off the wall after having lost back-to-back fights, but the bigger story here is Ortiz. With one fight left on his contract and having lost consecutive contests since submitting Ryan Bader this summer, it’s once again time to wonder if this is the last time we’ll see Ortiz in the cage?

He lobbied to fight again following the bout, and White gave his standard, “We’ll have to see” answer when asked about Ortiz’s future following the event. With a 1-5-1 record over his last seven fights and his 37th birthday around the corner, I think it might be time for Ortiz to ride off into the sunset. I know he’d like to go out on a win, but not everyone gets the Hollywood ending.

6. Chan Sung Jung Scores Seven-Second Knockout Win

Mark Hominick threw a sloppy, looping left hand to start the fight, and it turned out to be the only punch he’d throw.

Chan Sung Jung countered with a quick and well-placed right hand right down the pipe, dropping Hominick to the canvas. “The Korean Zombie” pounced, landed a handful of unanswered blows, and was celebrating a victory just seven seconds after the fight began. The seven-second finish ties Todd Duffee’s official record for fastest knockout, set at UFC 102 against Canadian Tim Hague.

The real record for fastest knockout belongs to Duane “Bang” Ludwig, who stopped Jonathan Goulet in four seconds at UFC Fight Night 3. That’s right, the three guys on the receiving end of the fastest knockouts in UFC history are all Canadians…

Saturday night’s victory was Jung’s second consecutive impressive finish, building off his Submission of the Year win over Leonard Garcia back in March.

7. Igor Pokrajac and Costa Philippou Both Looked Outstanding

Neither man needed all that much time in the cage, but both Igor Pokrajac and Costa Philippou earned emphatic finishes Saturday night in Toronto.

Pokrajac quickly dispatched Canadian Krzysztof Soszynski, connecting with a series of heavy shots when “The Polish Experiement” was backed against the fence, knocking him out cold at 35 seconds of the opening round.

Philippou needed a little longer — three minutes and eleven seconds — to finish Jared Hamman, his performance was equally impressive. After going 1-1 in his first two UFC appearances, both of which came on short notice, Philippou showed the punching power that had many expecting him to be a force on Season 11 of The Ultimate Fighter. He looks like he’s getting comfortable now, which could make him one to keep an eye on in the somewhat shallow middleweight division in 2012.

8. Introducing the Flyweights

It’s official: the UFC will be adding the 125-pound weight class.

Dana White announced the division will debut March 3, 2012 with a four-man tournament. Tachi Palace champion and #1-ranked flyweight “Uncle Creepy” Ian McCall will face Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson in one bout, while Joseph Benavidez will battle Japanese standout Yasuhiro Urushitani in the other, with the two winners battling to become the first UFC flyweight champion at a later date next year.

This is awesome news. The lighter weight classes have been the most exciting all year, and the flyweights will only add to that next year.

9. Penalty for Missing Weight Needs Improvement

Dennis Hallman beat the stuffing out of John Makdessi on Saturday night, handing the Canadian the first loss of his career, but it’s a win that even Hallman said feels kind of hollow. The veteran missed weight Friday by two-and-a-half pounds, forfeiting a portion of his purse to Makdessi, who agreed to keep the fight on the card.

I know that losing 20% of your pay isn’t fun and I don’t think Hallman didn’t try to make the 156-pound limit, but there needs to be stiffer penalties for guys missing weight.

Hallman didn’t even try to cut the final 2.5 pounds on Friday, leaving Makdessi in a crappy position. I can’t think of anyone who has walked away from their fight after their opponent missed weight; you don’t want to put in all that work, and then not get the reward. That being said, while that extra 20% is nice in Makdessi’s wallet, I’m sure he’d rather still have zero losses in his professional career.

I’m not sure what the solution is, but it’s obvious that the 20% fine isn’t enough of a deterrent.

10. Solid Debuts for Cholish and Hecht

Both John Cholish and Jake Hecht made the most of their UFC debuts on Saturday night, each scoring second round TKO victories.

Cholish, a Renzo Gracie student and energy broker on Wall Street, stopped Saskatoon’s Mitch Clarke in the first bout of the night, taking his back midway through the second round off an outstanding scramble that highlighted his tremendous jiu-jitsu game. The victory pushed his winning streak to eight, and caused many to mark him down as one to watch in the lightweight division in 2012.

In the second fight of the evening, Hecht stopped Rich Attonito after losing the opening frame to the Ultimate Fighter Season 11 alum. Attonito shot for a takedown, pressing Hecht into the fence, but Hecht caught him right behind the ear with a pair of compact, powerful elbows, the second of which caused Attonito to go limp. From there, Hecht quickly pounded out the finish, pushing his record to 11-2 overall.

Punch Drunk Prediction Results

Another rough night with the picks — 4-8 overall, 2-3 on the main card.

Overall Record: 195-131-3, 1 NC Main Card Record: 89-65-3

* * * * * * * *

Keep up with the latest from Keyboard Kimura by joining the Facebook page.

If you’re on Twitter, be sure to follow me (@ESKonMMA) for even more MMA talk… and a fistfull of randomness too.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.